Sunday, 2 October 2011
trying ideas
We was planning to have a shot of the camera slowly coming towards the church, all shaky and showing glimpses of graves setting the scene for the film, we wanted this in black and white so it would look effective and mysterious. In the end we decided to cut this as it would go over our five minute mark. This was our first edit for this footage.
The make-up
First Script
"Gemini"Rough DraftWritten by Justin E
INT.CHURCH - BLACK AND WHITE
Master shot of the stage of the church
Camera (on a track) gets pulled back slowly and shaky til it
reaches the entrance, where the door closes on the camera..
In Bold letters "Gemini" slowly comes up
INT.HOUSE/LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
A woman, mid 40s is crying whilst sat down on the dining
table, cuddling a photo of a teenage girl, she’s being
comforted by her husband about the same age, wearing a smart
shirt and trousers, hugging her and telling her it’s all
going to be OK.
From a distance A girl sings Itsy bitsy spider, in a creepy
and weird way
IAN
It’s going to be ok, Father
Anderson, said he’s done this
before.
JENNA
(in tears, she emotionally
can’t contain herself)
But why? why’s this happening to
her?
she takes another glance at the photo, she takes deep
breathes connoting that she’s been crying for awhile.
EXT.HOUSE - NIGHT
Outside A man steps out of a taxi, he wears an over coat,
covering most of his torso, he starts walking towards the
house
INT.HOUSE/LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The woman still cries her head on the table with her arms
cross, the man comforting her by placing his arm around her
shoulder.
Suddenly the door bell rings.
IAN
It’s him.
The man pulls away from the woman, she pulls him back
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 2.
JENNA
Tell him, I wanna help.
IAN
I’ll ask him, okay.
the man leaves the room,
INT.FRONT DOOR - NIGHT
The door opens, revealing Priest Anderson, a middle aged
man, wearing an overcoat and a medium suitcase.
IAN
Father
PRIEST
Evening.
IAN
Please come in
PRIEST
How’s Jenna doing?
IAN
She’s been crying non-stop.
The Priest has settled in, he’s taken his coat off, his
Bible out.
Jenna walks in the scene, her eyes red from crying
JENNA
(approaching the priest)
Father, Please tell me we’ll get
her back.
PRIEST
We’ll do our best okay. But you
have to do something for me,
JENNA
Anything.
Jenna hugs onto him and cries.
PRIEST
Stay here.. and don’t come up till
I say it’s okay.
3.
INT.HOUSE - NIGHT
Ian and the Priest walks up the stairs, faint sounds of
crying and speaking in an unrecognizable language.
EMILY
(from the room, screaming out
in a possessed voice)
Terribilis .... cogitationes animum
inundavit cum viveret, nunc sum
animo omnia hebes esse videtur. Non
ut homines dicerent sit pretiosa,
non est deus, non caelum. Ut saluto
nobis solum post mortem est
terribilis foveas inferni.
The 2 reaches a closed door.
The Priest looks back at Ian, he notices that he looked back
a few times.
PRIEST
Listen, it’s better for her to stay
there, we can’t show any weakness
after we’ve entered this door or
else it’ll overcome us, OK
Priest slowly opens the door
Then closes it, giving himself a couple of seconds to
prepare himself
INT.ROOM - NIGHT
Reveal a girl, her hair black and sweaty covering her face
, her hands and legs tied to the bed.
She breathes Slowly and Heavily.
PRIEST
(quietly to Ian)
Remember,be strong.
Ian Nods
INT.HOUSE/LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The woman still crying,hears the door opening from above and
the Song that the possessed girl is saying
4.
INT.ROOM - NIGHT
PRIEST
Emily.. How are you doing honey?
EMILY
(Deep morphed voice)
My name’s not Emily..and I heard
you (Laughter)
PRIEST
Oh you heard me? What did I say?
EMILY
(mocking)
Be strong Be strong Be strong!
(laughter)
IAN
Please Emily stop honey, we’re
trying to help you!
EMILY
(grunts)
I told you, My name’s not Emily.
PRIEST
What IS your name my friend, and
why are you here?!
Emily sways her head left to right for a few seconds
EMILY
(head sways stops)
Life is precious, people say, Life
is wonderful, they said. I was
nothing short of 6 years old when
my father raped and killed me.
The woman peeks through
Emily stares directly into the woman’s eyes.
EMILY
(With her lowest/demonic voice
and tilting her head sideways)
Hello Mummy. *Grins*
This sparks the Woman to again burst into tears and run
away.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 5.
IAN
Jenna!
Ian acts as if he want to go to Jenna but then is halted by
the Priest
PRIEST
Stay here, we have to do this now!
Priest hands a small bottle to Ian.
The 2 slowly approaches Emily’s bed
PRIEST
When I tell you to, I want you to
whisk some holy water on her
forehead and chest.
Ian nods
Priest opens his Bible
PRIEST
The Lord is My Shepherd..He
refreshes my soul, he guides me
along the right paths for his
name’s sake.
Ian looks at the Priest
Emily starts Swaying around like she did before, but this
time more intense and harder, moving the bed bit by bit.
PRIEST
(more intense)
The Lord is My Shepherd..He
refreshes my soul, he guides me
along the right paths for his
name’s sake. Even though I walk
through the darkest valley I will
fear NO evil, for you are with me
your rod and your staff will
comfort me..
EMILY
Faggot...
Emily Laughs uncontrollably
Ian whisks the holy water on Emily
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 6.
PRIEST
In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, I’m commanding you!
Gemini! Leave young Emily’s body.
The swaying stops..
It looks like Emily’s back to normal
PRIEST
Emily?
EMILY
...Father..*in her normal voice*.MY
NAME IS GEMINI!!! *Laughter* - back
to the exorcised voice
Ian slowly moves backwards
PRIEST
Ian...Go to your wife now!
Ian leaves the room
EMILY
Looks like it’s just you and me
father.
PRIEST
(confused)
I-I-
EMILY
Your "faith" is not strong enough
it seems father
PRIEST
(checking his pockets for a
crucifix and his voice more
intense and emotional)
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not
be in want He makes me lie down in
green pastures, he leads me beside
quiet waters He restores my soul.
he guides me in paths of
righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil for you are with
me
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (4) 7.
EMILY
(Simultaneous with Priest’s
speech)
Non possum Non possum subsisto
Emily starts sticking her tongue out and starts making
obscene remarks with it.
Priest takes out a crucifix.
PRIEST
In Jesus’ Name I command you to
leave right...NOW!
facing the crucifix to Emily.
EMILY
I win *Laughter* I win.
Emily makes a loud Screeching sound, sort of like getting
possesed/getting a fit, pulling her body up as hard as she
can, she holds this for a few seconds then she drops onto
the bed seeming like the Evil Spirit has left.
The Priest takes a closer look at Emily her face back to
normal,
he brushes her hair to the side. His face looked ecstatic as
he sees that Emily’s back to normal
The door slowly opens.
JENNA
Father..
Priest shifts his attention to Jenna,
To his terror, He sees what’s become of Jenna,
Her face Pales as rice, blood Marks her face and clothes,
she holds a long bloody chef’s knife.
JENNA
(Exorcised)
I told you.. I win.
EXT.HOUSE - NIGHT
Then we hear a brief scream/shriek and a body falling down.
8.
INT.ROOM - NIGHT
The Priest lies Dead on the Bed his neck slit end to end.
Jenna stands over the Priests’ lifeless body. Blood both on
the knife and around her mouth
Jenna walks towards Emily who just woke from a few days of
being possessed her eyes blurry and can only see the figure
walking towards her.
Fade to black
Fade in
Close up on Jenna’s face
JENNA
(Exorcised voice)
Death be not proud. Though some
have called thee mighty and
dreadful, thou art not so. Though
soonest our best men with thee go,
rest of their bones and soul’s
delivery but those thou dost
think’st thou dost overthrow die
not, poor death nor canst thou
kill/stop me....
She looks straight into the camera, frowning seeming sad...
she looks down then looks back at the camera, leaving us
with a spine tingling smile with blood dripping out her
mouth
Fade to Black
Rejection Letters
This is the basic lay out for our letters, when doing this we didn't want to offend the people who came to our audition making them feel as if we had wasted their time, but wanted to sound professional at the same time, we had to try and give them the bad news softly as we could.
REJECTION LETTER LAYOUT:
Dear.....
Thank you for coming to our audition last Wednesday.
We all thought that you performed well, with enthusiasm and talent. However, there were some very strong candidates, and we had to make some tough decisions. Unfortunately, we came to the conclusion that somebody that we auditioned was more suited to this particular role.
Thank you so much for coming over and we wish you all the best in the future.
REJECTION LETTER LAYOUT:
Dear.....
Thank you for coming to our audition last Wednesday.
We all thought that you performed well, with enthusiasm and talent. However, there were some very strong candidates, and we had to make some tough decisions. Unfortunately, we came to the conclusion that somebody that we auditioned was more suited to this particular role.
Thank you so much for coming over and we wish you all the best in the future.
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Auditions
The auditions for my short started off very slow, with the first Auditionee coming in about 30 minutes late, but all was well because at the end of the day, we had ten people who came and auditioned.
The First Auditione
Paul
Paul an actor from Kent gave his all as he auditioned for the part of the priest, but in the end we didn't think that he looked the like a stereotypical priest.
The after Paul was
Mechelle
Mechelle was the only female actress to make it to the audition, she wanted to play the part of Emily, she gave it her all and with that we was quiet interested with it but we personally thought that she looked too old to play as Emily so we may decide to give her the part of Jenna.
The next Auditionee was
Danny
Danny came in to the audition with confidence, he auditioned for the role of Ian, but we persuaded him to try the lines of the priest. Danny Got the Ian Part. After contacting him saying he got the part, he then got back to us saying that he had scheduling conflicts.
The next one was
Chris
Chris came in the audition a bit shaky and anxious, but he surprised everyone when he took centre stage, he didn't get the part he auditioned for (the priest) but we are considering for him to play as Ian.
The next auditionee was another
Paul
Paul was maybe the strongest candidate for the role of the Priest, it was just due to Geography why he didn't get the part, he literally pulled away from the other actors who auditioned for the Priest (except for one).
The next and last audition is...
Aaron
Aaron came in for the role of the priest, but as he started reading out the lines, he got all the things I was hoping for out and about, Intensity emphasis and power, hence why he got the part, the only problem is that he looks too young which makes the character of the priest look as if he hasn't had much experience.
From The first Audition we managed to get 1 (maybe 2) roles filled, which is one of the important roles, to fill the other 3 (or 2 depending on Chris' response) I think video Auditions would have to suffice, considering the time and money spent from both parties getting to the audition.
At the moment, Video Auditions are coming in, here are 2 so far..
Auditioning for Jenna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-FVkoiaCxA
Auditioning for the Priest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxM7tL5dJfQ
The First Auditione
Paul
Paul an actor from Kent gave his all as he auditioned for the part of the priest, but in the end we didn't think that he looked the like a stereotypical priest.
The after Paul was
Mechelle
Mechelle was the only female actress to make it to the audition, she wanted to play the part of Emily, she gave it her all and with that we was quiet interested with it but we personally thought that she looked too old to play as Emily so we may decide to give her the part of Jenna.
The next Auditionee was
Danny
Danny came in to the audition with confidence, he auditioned for the role of Ian, but we persuaded him to try the lines of the priest. Danny Got the Ian Part. After contacting him saying he got the part, he then got back to us saying that he had scheduling conflicts.
The next one was
Chris
Chris came in the audition a bit shaky and anxious, but he surprised everyone when he took centre stage, he didn't get the part he auditioned for (the priest) but we are considering for him to play as Ian.
The next auditionee was another
Paul
Paul was maybe the strongest candidate for the role of the Priest, it was just due to Geography why he didn't get the part, he literally pulled away from the other actors who auditioned for the Priest (except for one).
The next and last audition is...
Aaron
Aaron came in for the role of the priest, but as he started reading out the lines, he got all the things I was hoping for out and about, Intensity emphasis and power, hence why he got the part, the only problem is that he looks too young which makes the character of the priest look as if he hasn't had much experience.
From The first Audition we managed to get 1 (maybe 2) roles filled, which is one of the important roles, to fill the other 3 (or 2 depending on Chris' response) I think video Auditions would have to suffice, considering the time and money spent from both parties getting to the audition.
At the moment, Video Auditions are coming in, here are 2 so far..
Auditioning for Jenna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-FVkoiaCxA
Auditioning for the Priest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxM7tL5dJfQ
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Textual analysis on Bulldog
I have decided to analyse a short film directed by Jamie Maddox, I found his short film on You Tube, this short film was made for his A2 course work so there was little or no money put towards it. Jamie Maddox decided to go for a horror genre, but there was something’s that was counter typical of this genre, as in his film most of the killings happened in broad daylight and Jamie Maddox doesn’t show or tell the audience that the characters have no way of contacting people or help, this is because we are never told that they have ran out of credit, lost batteries to their phones or didn’t bring their phones with them, which is critical for the audience to know especially in a slasher type horror film. However, there is another part of the film that makes it a typical horror film as the setting is in a remote area.
Jamie Maddox’s group didn’t make much of a storyline as there are a group of boys just going to camp in some woods, where there have been some people reported missing just recently. There is no obvious reason that the audience would know why the killer is there in the first place and why he is killing them. We can tell the film is targeted for an audience between 16 and 24 as there are young actors, as these are the age group where inspirers would most likely be because in between this age group the teens and young adults would be trying to impress their mates by keeping their status up, like the character does in the short film when he’s about to attack his mate, this would give the audience something to relate to, we can also tell that this is aimed towards the young adults and teens as one of the characters talks slang which would relate to their target audience, most of them would be male as they typically would watch horror films that would make them jump, they would be some female audience as some would come to watch the actors they fancy but the other females would just come to see the film it self.
Jamie Maddox didn’t use many shoots or any interesting camera angles. The most interesting shots Jamie uses is point of view shots, a low angle shot and a high angle shot but these are all through point of view, the way Jamie Maddox films his short film makes it look like someone there is filming for a hand held camera as he uses a lot of unnecessary zooming in. during the chase scene Jamie uses well placed shots building tension to the chase, he has cameras in different angles and heights which makes the chase all the more thrilling, as the different tilts in the camera give it the more out of the ordinary feeling to the film. There are sometimes the odd cut which makes the audience think ‘why was that added in?’, as we see a fade to black for no obvious reason and by doing this it breaks continuity to the film. The lack of different shots suggest that Jamie couldn’t be bothered with his film, as he could have easily added in close ups of the characters faces to show the reaction when they are being killed, but again the acting was amateur like as we can see some of the characters with blank expressions on there faces when they have just been stabbed or being choked to death, again this would break continuity. There are very little effects that Jamie uses, as it looks like he just used the footage as it is, when he does use effects they make no sense why they are there, the mise-en-scene is not well done as the killers mask doesn’t look well thought out, they didn’t think much of the lighting when filming as in typical horror films the killer strikes at night making it more jumpy and spooky, but the location was well planned as just like a typical horror film where the killings take place is in a remote area where little or no people come through suggesting there’s no help. Jamie also doesn’t use build up in the editing as when the killer is trying to kill some one there’s no fast pace editing to build up the tension, and because there’s no build up the kills don’t seem as good as it could be.
In my opinion I think that Jamie Maddox didn’t give much effort to his film, it had the potential to have been a good short film but it seemed rushed and not well planned out. I think that the acting let them down massively and the lack of shots, the only good part of the film was during the chase scene as Jamie made fast pace edits and cuts to different camera angles to build up the tension and suspense. It also should have been filmed at night to make it more typical of a horror genre. There wasn’t a wide variety of shots in this film which makes the audience lose interest as we can’t see the reaction shots of them about to die, there are no shot reverse shots, no match on action, everything seems to be in a long take. From their mistakes I think I could improve on my film as I have seen what the out come is if when there is lack of shots and amateur actors as I would like to aim at a higher standard than what Jamie Maddox has achieved.
Abandoning our original idea
Our original idea was about a group of teens going off into the woods and staying the night there, just for a laugh but then they witness a killer trying to bury a body deep in the wood. The killer finds out that they have seen him burying the body so he tries to get rid of the eye witnesses one by one. This idea was abandoned as the council didn't reach to us in time about getting permission to film in the woods as there would be fire and people screaming. We then quickly came up with another idea which is about an exorcism on a 18 year old girl and her parents has called for a priest to take the demon soul out of her, this priest has had past experience with exorcisms, which is why the parents of the daughter has called him. He tries his best and gets rid of the demons soul from the daughter, but little does he know that the demon has just moved to another body, the demon has just switched into the daughters mum's body and then kills the dad and the priest, we like to leave it on a cliff hanger that if the demon killed the daughter or if the mothers soul fights back preventing the demon to kill her daughter, I like where the demon just switches body as it gives a twist to the story.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)